Tag: hvac systems

Noises can be defined in a multitude of different ways despite the source of the noise. In general, we can categorize any noise as expected or unexpected. In the HVAC world, according to your St Louis MO HVAC install and repair, we can break these noises down into a lot of different areas and not all of it is unusual or of concern. “No matter the age or price of your HVAC unit, it’s going to make noise.” That’s right, you may have become immune to the low hum that your HVAC unit emits, but it is important to note anytime there are new, unsettling noises and sounds happening.

Of course, not all noises suggest that you’re staring down an impending road of disaster, however most St Louis HVAC systems near O’Fallon MO, make noises that signal it’s time for maintenance or repair. Below are some examples of those sounds and potential causes, as well as a few tips for eliminating said noises, according to your St Louis HVAC sales near O’Fallon.

Thumping, clanking or banging: “Other than the cheerful, big-eyed rabbit in Bambi, thumping is usually an unpleasant and ominous sound. So, if you’re hearing banging, clanking or thumping, that may be a sign of trouble brewing. If any of these bothersome sounds are coming directly from your HVAC system, this could mean there’s an issue with your HVAC’s blower assembly. We suggest turning off your HVAC system before the issue worsens, and then calling a technician to inspect the problem.” Popping: Popping sounds when you turn your system on and off you can breathe a sigh of relief. The popping sound is due to your metal ductwork expanding and isn’t a problem whatsoever, according to your St Louis HVAC repair near O’Fallon MO., For elimination of the sound, insulation such as foam or rubber can help limit the noise. Other sounds will be covered in posts to follow on behalf of your St Louis HVAC installation and repair.

Looking further into the effects of natural disasters on HVAC systems on behalf of your St Louis Heating and Cooling Repair near Clayton MO, we found some interesting information regarding the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that resulted in March of 2011. “The aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and resulting tsunami of 11 March 2011 provided researchers an unexpected opportunity to explore the relationship between air conditioning and risk of heat-related death.” According to our research on behalf of St Louis Heating Sales near Clayton, there have been many prior studies that reported associations between access to and/or use of air conditioning and lower mortality risk. However, the new results, published in Environmental Health Perspectives online, suggest that reducing the use of AC during summer heat may not necessarily have adverse consequences for human health, depending on the age and existing health of the people being considered.

The following was reported, “The 2011 earthquake and tsunami severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and caused severe electrical shortages in the Tokyo metropolitan area. To conserve energy, the government strongly encouraged residents served by Tokyo Electric Power Company and Tohoku Electric Power Company to reduce electricity consumption by 15% from July to September of 2011.”

The urgency was heightened to reduce energy consumptions although campaigns promoting energy conservation have long been a summertime fixture in Japan. Many residents of Japan working to reduce cooling bills and energy consumption swapped AC for fans. The end results were not troubling to their health. Interestingly enough, heat related deaths actually decreased during this time.

The world has been leaning green for the past several years now and HVAC is no exception. “As recently as December 2013, President Obama said that the U.S. federal government must double its reliance on renewable energy by 2020, meaning that 20 percent of its energy supplies will need to come from renewable sources. The reliance on green energy has several benefits, including the ability to decrease the ‘environmental footprint’ on the plant, according to the U.S. EPA as well as to alleviate energy security issues while spurring economic growth within the U.S.”

We set out, on behalf of your St Louis HVAC sales and installation near Kirkwood, to deliver more info on just what that means from an HVAC perspective. We know that the green trend means plenty of changes to the HVAC industry, but just exactly what, we were not sure. “Companies in the U.S. and worldwide are involved in research to create more energy-efficient traditional systems as well as new types of systems that run off alternative energies, such as geothermal or solar.” We found a lot of information when researching for your St Louis HVAC sales near Kirkwood, but also realized that even more improved technologies can be expected in the future as companies work toward changing this country’s reliance on fossil fuels, which in the U.S. stands at 82 percent. “Only about 9 percent of the country’s energy supplies currently make use of renewable sources, which leaves plenty of room for change in HVAC systems.”

The on-command hot water recirculator is the one product we will describe today, in the HVAC green movement. “This product, produced by Taco, Inc., out of Cranston, Rhode Island, saves money, energy and water while delivering hot water in a timely manner.” It involves installation of the “On Command” pump that attaches to the hot and cold water lines under a kitchen or bath fixture in a home, according to our HVAC research. “When activated, it allows the cool water being drained to circulate back to the water heater through the cold water line, allowing hot water to be delivered at any time 24 hours a day.” The energy conservation is obvious here and kicks off our series in the St Louis HVAC installation near Kirkwood on HVAC renewable energy and green movements.

If you are the owner of an HVAC system, and chances are good, as an adult, that you either are or will be in the near future, you need to be aware of some things related to the ventilation portion of the St Louis heating and cooling near Collinsville IL. The ventilation portion of the gig is often times overlooked when it is one of the most important aspects of heating a cooling your space in St Louis. In fact, the following quote was snagged from a research article and found in our reading on behalf of your St Louis Heating Repair near Collinsville, “Because HVAC systems can also contribute to problems with indoor air quality, it is important that HVAC systems be correctly maintained and checked for signs of poor ventilation. When systems go unchecked for long periods of time, they may become contaminated or clogged, reducing or eliminating the amount of airflow and circulating pollutants throughout your home or business.”

So, the name of the game, when it comes to the ventilation portion of your St Louis HVAC maintenance near Collinsville IL, is proper upkeep. This can mean regular cleanings or inspections at the least, in order to avoid polluted, contaminated air and or to increase the airflow and save you money in the long run.

If you have a humidifier or dehumidifier attached to your St Louis Cooling system near Collinsville, then you have more to consider. “Additionally, humidification and dehumidification systems should be kept clean to prevent the growth of damaging bacteria and fungi. If the water in the system’s cooling towers are not properly treated, harmful organisms such as mold and mildew can grow and spread into the HVAC ductwork and potentially lead to serious health issues.” Luckily, if you have an HVAC repair place you can trust, such as your St Louis Cooling Maintenance near Collinsville, then you can always call on them for all of your heating and cooling maintenance needs.

We like to bring you all the latest news in the world of HVAC on behalf of your St Louis HVAC sales and service near O’Fallon MO, but sometimes it is important to reevaluate the information you share and attempt to cover more of the basics for those in your audience who may be unaware. So, today, we will look at the basics of St Louis MO HVAC and hopefully help our readers get on the same page before we start covering more advanced details in our future posts.

Most homes are heated and cooled through a central, whole-home, Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning system (HVAC). The HVAC may well be one of the most expensive and energy hungry systems in the home, so the more you know about your HVAC, the better off you will be, especially if you act on what you know. A well-informed homeowner will save money and have a healthier, more comfortable home indeed.

When you hear people refer to St Louis HVAC near O’Fallon as split, this is a real thing and is due to the following, “Central HVAC systems are often called ‘split’ systems because some of the components are installed inside the home and some of the components are installed outside a home. Inside your home, usually installed in the basement, attic, or a closet, you’ll find the furnace (oil, gas, or electric) and the evaporator portion of the air-conditioner. You’ll also find the blower (sometimes called an air handler), which serves both the furnace and the air-conditioner. Attached to the blower are ducts, which are tubes acting as pathways to deliver heated or cooled air to various rooms in the house.” Furthermore, the AC (or heat pump)has a condenser/compressor involved in its functioning, according to your HVAC sales and service in St Louis and it is typically installed outside the home, while the furnace, the evaporator and the blower are installed inside the home’s St Louis HVAC near O’Fallon MO.

Most homes, businesses and offices are heated and cooled through a central, whole-building, Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning system (HVAC). The HVAC may well be one of the most expensive and energy hungry systems in the home or office, so the more you know about your HVAC, the better. A well-informed homeowner or business owner will save money and have a healthier, more comfortable home or office, so we are here to help fill you in on some of the HVAC details on behalf of your Heating and Cooling Maintenance in St Louis near Fenton MO.

There are several components in which to consider in your St Louis heating and cooling system. Central HVAC systems are often called “split” systems because some of the components are installed inside the home and some of the components are installed outside a home. Inside your home, usually installed in the basement, attic, or a closet, you’ll find the furnace (oil, gas, or electric) and the evaporator portion of the air-conditioner. “You’ll also find the blower (sometimes called an air handler), which serves both the furnace and the air-conditioner. Attached to the blower are ducts, which are tubes acting as pathways to deliver heated or cooled air to various rooms in the house.” The more you know about the structure of your St Louis Heating and Cooling system, the more likely you are to handle things that come up, whether it be in a do-it-yourself fashion or through the help of a commercial HVAC company such as your St Louis Cooling sales and service near Fenton MO.

The air-conditioner’s (or heat pump’s) condenser/compressor unit is installed outside the home or office in all cases. The furnace, evaporator, and blower are installed inside the home or office in each scenario. You will not have a separate furnace for an HVAC with a heat pump, just FYI. As we fully explain the components of HVAC in St Louis, you will want to stay tuned here for further details, both simple and complex.

Headed back around the bend, we are still looking closely at the HVAC systems of today, and more specifically, whether or not we need to concern ourselves with having them cleaned by heating and cooling service in St Louis near Webster Groves MO. The answer seems to lie, like so many other questions, in the details of your situation. “Some research suggests that cleaning heating and cooling system components (e.g., cooling coils, fans and heat exchangers) may improve the efficiency of your system, resulting in a longer operating life, as well as some energy and maintenance cost savings. However, little evidence exists that cleaning only the ducts will improve the efficiency of the system.” So, it could be more of a question of how much of your heating and cooling system you address in the cleaning process, or just how thorough you ask them to be when you call your St Louis heating and cooling installation near Webster Groves for your next HVAC service.

Many people will agree that the debate is pointless, in fact you may consider having your air ducts cleaned simply because it seems logical that air ducts will get dirty over time and should be occasionally cleaned. “Provided that the cleaning is done properly, no evidence suggests that such cleaning would be detrimental. EPA does not recommend that the air ducts be cleaned routinely, but only as needed.” Also true and found in our recent research on behalf of your St Louis heating service near Webster Groves, is that the EPA does, however, recommend that if you have a fuel burning furnace, stove or fireplace, they be inspected for proper functioning and serviced before each heating season to protect against carbon monoxide poisoning.

If you do decide to have your air ducts cleaned, take the same consumer precautions you normally would in assessing the service provider’s competence and reliability. You may wish to only pursue those businesses highly recommended to you, such as your St Louis Heating Sales and Service near Webster Groves.

We are now broaching the second post within the same subject of HVAC systems and whether or not to have them cleaned. We ended the previous post on mold scenarios and how, obviously, if you have mold in your HVAC in St Louis near Fenton, then you need to consult an HVAC service company in St Louis in order to have it cleaned or to have someone referred to you for cleaning.

A few final mold pointers for you, found online, are as follows, “If you have insulated air ducts and the insulation gets wet or moldy it cannot be effectively cleaned and should be removed and replaced. If the conditions causing the mold growth in the first place are not corrected, mold growth will recur.” Now, we will move onto other scenarios by which it is wise to have your heating and cooling in St Louis near Fenton cleaned by professionals. Say, for example, your ducts are infested with rodents, insects or other vermin. You will definitely want to consult heating and cooling services in St Louis if that describes your situation.

A third and less unusual situation will involve your St Louis Heating and Cooling Ducts being clogged with excessive amounts of dust and debris and/or particles (more than the average system). This describes an HVAC that definitely needs heating and cooling service near Fenton to be cleaned thoroughly for optimum performance. “If any of the conditions identified above exists, it usually suggests one or more underlying causes. Prior to any cleaning, retrofitting, or replacing of your ducts, the cause or causes must be corrected or else the problem will likely recur.” So, don’t let someone talk you into full replacement from the start as this will not necessarily address the cause of your predicament and will likely get you back in the same boat.

In the world of HVAC, we continue to have so much to report and read about. The latest and greatest innovations continue to sift through the heating and cooling world and make our job reporting the latest news to you pretty fun and rarely ever dull. One specific and somewhat revolutionary HVAC technologie that could change how we heat and cool our homes as we know it was found in our recent research on behalf of your heating and cooling in St Louis near Jefferson County MO. Many of these HVAC technologies are still on the drawing board, but there are some you can take advantage of now to boost your home’s comfort levels, according to all that we read.

Movement-Activated Air Conditioning was one thing we encountered in our research on behalf of your cooling specialists in St Louis and it has originated from engineers at MIT who have come up with a new air conditioning design that utilizes sensors along aluminum rods hung from the ceiling. Movement then activates these sensors. In other words, the air conditioner only kicks on when people are present. That may be one of the most efficient cooling set-ups we have seen to date.

“A motion-activated system seems like such a simple, ingenious idea that it’s almost baffling it hasn’t been tried before now. However, this kind of prototype is just one example of how future HVAC systems are going to be more compact and portable, helping to reduce both energy and utility costs.” Technology is amazing whether it is in the works or already in play in homes and offices and their existing cooling in St Louis near Jefferson County. Either way, you need to stay on top of the latest in technology in order to find the best cooling system to fit your needs.

In an effort to finalize and summarize our recent series of posts on behalf of your St Louis Heating and Cooling installation and sales near Fenton MO, we are here today to say that of all the ways in which you can stay abreast of technology that will save you money in the HVAC world, the one way, besides the last money saving technology is to make sure you understand not all systems are created equally.

There are some systems that are much better than others at running efficiently. Here is what one set of writers has to say on the subject in an article we found on behalf of our research being done for your St Louis Heating and Cooling sales near Fenton, “Not all furnaces and air conditioners are created equally. Just like different cars have different gas mileage, different HVAC systems use different amounts of energy to heat or cool a home.”

You may be interested in knowing that heating efficiency is measured by the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating (AFUE). It measures the amount of energy that is used by your furnace that is actually turned into heat. For example, an AFUE of 80 percent means that 80 percent of the energy a furnace uses is turned into heat and 20 percent of the energy is wasted, so obviously, the higher this number, the better. If you buy a modern day furnace, or have done so in the recent past, then you should know that for furnaces manufactured after September 2015, the Department of Energy mandated a minimum AFUE of between 80 to 84 depending on the fuel type and whether the furnace is designed for a mobile home or permanent structure. Beyond that, the numbers have to be displayed clearly on the package. So, you likely have a more efficient furnace if it was purchased in the recent past. If you find yourself in need of a smarter heating solution in St Louis now or in the future, come visit your St Louis heating and cooling sales experts near Fenton today.